1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an aspect of the design and operation of cotton gins. More specifically, the present invention is directed toward an improvement in the design of high slippage feeders for cotton gins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since the cotton gin was first developed by Eli Whitney more than a century ago, the basic task of separating seeds, plant material and other small objects from fibers of the cotton has evolved considerably. Primarily in response to increasing consumer demand for cotton that is substantially free of such trash, numerous devices have been added to the cotton gin to improve the cleanliness of the cotton produced. One such improvement is the hot shelf tower dryer, which is a direct application to the ginning process of the principle that drier cotton is easier to clean than wetter cotton. Other improvements, such as cleaners and extractors, also have been developed to improve the overall efficacy of the ginning process. Typically cleaners remove fine trash, leaves, and dirt, from the cotton while extractors remove burs and sticks.
Once cleaned by some or all of these ancillary machines or equipment, the cotton must be transported to other sections of the cotton gin. Typically, the cotton is conveyed by a rotary vacuum connected to a high slippage feeder. A high slippage feeder may be used in any location where cotton is to be conveyed from one part of the cotton gin to another and is not limited just to the location between the cleaners, extractors, hot shelf tower dryer and gin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,495, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a high slippage feeder connected to a rotary vacuum for conveying cleaned seed cotton. Conventionally, the cleaned seed cotton exits the cleaning or extracting machinery through a rotary vacuum connected to a high slippage feeder, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The seed cotton simply drops from rotary vacuum 50 into high slippage feeder 52 for conveyance through the remainder of the cotton gin. Because the conventional high slippage feeder conveys cotton using a simplistic design, it does not operate at maximum efficiency or efficacy.
This deficiency has created a specific need for an improvement in high slippage feeders. As set forth in greater detail below, the present invention addresses this need.